On the morning of July 21, 2025, the opening ceremony of the 19th United Nation China Study Programme was held at Nanjing Universtiy. Lu Yanqing, Vice President of NJU; Jiang Long, Chairman of Jiangsu Cultural Development Foundation; and He Yong, Director of UN China Study Programme attended the ceremony and delivered speeches.

Lu Yanqing extended a warm welcome to all participants. He recalled the close historical ties between NJU and the UN, noting that many alumni have either held important leadership positions in the UN and its subsidiary organizations or have been drafters and translators of important UN documents in Chinese. NJU has also awarded honorary doctoral degrees to former UN Secretaries-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Ban Ki-moon. He emphasized that NJU highly values and cherishes this historical connection. The UN China Study Programme represents a further deepening and development of this relationship. After more than 20 years of joint efforts, this program has become a beautiful highlight of the UN's multilingual culture. He expressed hope that participants would improve their Chinese language skills, deepen their understanding of China, practice the UN spirit of "peace, friendship, and cooperation," and enhance their professional development through this programme.

In his speech, Jiang Long emphasized that Chinese is one of the official languages of the UN and one of the most widely used languages globally. This program provides UN staff with an efficient platform for learning Chinese and enhances their working capabilities. The Foundation is committed to contributing to exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign cultures and civilizations, and will collaborate with NJU's Institute for International Students to incorporate experiences of Jiangsu's thousand-year cultural heritage and modern vitality into language training. Finally, he congratulated the Institute for International Students on the successful launch of the 19th UN China Study Programme.

Student representative David Evens presented his calligraphy work—Li Bai's famous poem "Early Departure from White Emperor City"—to Vice President Lu Yanqing.

In his remarks, Dr. He Yong noted that the UN China Study Programme, now in its 19th session over more than two decades, has become a symbol of the precious tradition and enduring cooperation between the UN and NJU. He expressed heartfelt gratitude to the University, the Institute, and the teachers, assistants, and volunteers who have dedicated themselves to the program. He pointed out that Chinese, as one of the six official languages of the UN, plays an important role in promoting multilingualism, cultural diversity, and global understanding. He encouraged participants from various UN agencies around the world to make full use of these three weeks to actively engage in learning, interact with teachers, explore Chinese society and culture, deepen their understanding, broaden their perspectives, and build more bridges of understanding for the future.

During the ceremony, all attendees watched a video reviewing the twenty-year history of the programme at NJU and a video produced by the Overseas Education College titled "Come Study at NJU".

The ceremony was presided over by Zhang Yi, Dean of the Institute for International Students.

About 70 people attended the opening ceremony, including leaders from related departments and schools of NJU, as well as project instructors, volunteers, and staff from various UN departments.

The UN China Study Programme, which began in 2004, is hosted by NJU and provides an immersive experience of Chinese society and culture for UN staff from the New York headquarters and branch offices in Bangkok, Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and other locations who have chosen to study Chinese. This makes Chinese the only language among the six working languages of the UN to have a training program in its native country. As of 2025, the program has trained more than 900 participants.